El Hazard: The Wanderers
DVD Features:
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Volume #1: The Adventure Begins
English Dubbed Version
Released: 1998
Version: DVD (Pioneer)
Approx. Rating: PG (or 13UP) due to mild swearing and brief nudity
Length: Approx. 175 minutes
English Cast: Eddie Frierson (Makoto Mizuhara), Michael Sorich (Masamichi Fujisawa), Bob Marx (Katsuhiko Jinnai), Lia Sargent (Nanami Jinnai), Melissa Charles (Alielle), Dorothy Melendrez (Miz Mishtal), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Shayla-Shayla)
If you want to watch an El Hazard series, this is the one that I would recommend you check out. It's funny, entertaining, and it's not sick like The Alternative World is. At least, it isn't in the first 13 episodes.
The Wanderers follows the same story that the other El Hazard tales follow. Basically, it's that Makoto Mizuhara has gotten himself, Nanami Jinnai, Katsuhiko Jinnai, and Mr. Masamichi Fujisawa transported into another world, called El Hazard. The rest of the show is about Makoto, Fujisawa and Nanami trying to find a way back to Earth and/or starting to accept their fate.
Just so you understand what's going on, I will give you a run down of the characters. Makoto is some kind of science geek that is ultra-smart. Nanami is Katusuhiko's (usually called simply: Jinnai) younger sister and she is Makoto's best friend and potential love interest. Jinnai is a power hungry jerk with a funny laugh. Jinnai ends up being one of the commanders of the Bugrum, a giant humanoid bug-race. Mr. Fujisawa is a Professor of History and is super strong in El Hazard when he is sober.
Upon arriving in El Hazard, all the principle characters are separated. Makoto promptly saves the Princess of Rashtaria from some Bugrum with the help of Mr. Fujisawa. The Princess falls for Makoto, but doesn't know how to express her love, so the viewer just gets to watch her struggle.
It should be noted that none of the principle characters knows that any of their friends were transported to El Hazard.
The next five or six episodes are all about Makoto and Mr. Fujisawa trying to find a way back home. They are led by a young waif named Alielle. They meet up with three different priestesses on their adventures. The Water Priestess falls in love with Fujisawa. Personally, I found this part of the show kind of lacking. It was fun, but they should have spread it out a little more. Instead you meet three very different characters in three episodes and then, Poof!, their gone. Dumb.
That pretty much covers what happens in the first 7 episodes without giving away too much information. If this intrigues you at all, I think you should check it out.
The Good Stuff:
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Funny lines and oddball creatures. |
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Watch for the Pretty Sammy "cameo" |
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Keep an eye out for a puppet of the Queen's... |
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Pretty good animation to my untrained eye. Others don't seem to think so though, so check out AnimeWorld for a more Professional take on that side. |
The Bad Stuff:
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Some swearing, but it's not bad |
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One brief shot of Shayla-Shayla (The Fire Priestess) naked, but you don't see anything. |
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It can drag a little storywise |
Overall, I enjoyed this show. It has a good mix of elements and lots of stuff to do. While it is episodic, there's enough of a connection to keep you coming back for more. Plus it's a very good buy for the DVD version because it comes with 7 episodes!!!
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